


Strange & Beautiful (Merthur Short Story)

by SoniDragon



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur Finds Out About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Dragonlord Merlin (Merlin), Gwen & Merlin Friendship (Merlin), M/M, Merlin's Magic Revealed (Merlin), Protective Merlin, merthur au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:55:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25454266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoniDragon/pseuds/SoniDragon
Summary: Arthur can't find Merlin anywhere, as per usual.When he goes to Gaius' chambers, Merlin's there, also as per usual.When he hears Merlin whisper words in an incoherent language to see lights dance around his fingertips, it's not exactly as usual.Now Arthur has to deal with his feelings about a secret he isn't supposed to know- as well as of course his feelings for a certain sorcerer.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 74





	Strange & Beautiful (Merthur Short Story)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a quick short Merthur fic I'm writing after the idea randomly struck me when I was about to go to sleep, and also watching the episode where Merlin gets poisoned and begins doing magic in his sleep. There will probably only be two or three parts, depending on how long it ends up(this isn't meant to be a full-length fic). It's also mostly unedited, so sorry about that if there are any errors.  
> Oh, and the title is inspired by the song, "Strange & Beautiful" by Aqualung(listen to it, I think it fits really well with Merthur!).  
> Hope you like it!  
> \- Soni <3

“Where is he, Gaius?” Word had reached Arthur from one of the knights that Merlin was sick. 

Okay, so it wasn’t that the knights told him but more-so that the heard Gwaine mention it to Percival, and Arthur would never admit that he wanted to check for himself if his servant was okay. Arthur had knocked on the door to the physician’s chamber, and now Gaius was giving him a dumbfounded look as he tried to make an excuse as to why Arthur couldn’t enter. 

“Gaius, have you seen that dollophead I call my useless excuse for a servant?” Arthur was sure to speak loudly enough that Merlin could hear him if he were inside. 

Gaius shook his head. “I apologize, Sire, I have not seen him. I assumed he was with you.” He slurred the “you” at the end. Arthur lifted his head when he heard a cough from inside, and lifted an eyebrow. 

“Really? Who was that then?” 

Gaius sighed, “Alright. Unfortunately, Merlin has caught a fever. He is too weak to assist you today, and we don’t want you getting sick, Sire.” 

Arthur tried to push the door open a little more. “Sick? He _was_ acting strangely after yesterday’s mission. Let me see him, at least.”

“You cannot! We can’t risk the prince falling ill, can we?” Gaius said. 

“You’re right, I _am_ the prince, which means I can do what I want,” Arthur said, his hand on the door, eyes stern and steady on his goal. The physician sighed once again, knowing he would not be able to convince Arthur to leave. He moved away from the door, and Arthur mumbled a quick “Thank you” before proceeding. 

Arthur trudged into the room, careful to not knock over any potions, and opened the door to the room where Merlin slept, as Gaius sent a quick prayer for luck. He knew what Merlin tended to mumble in his sleep when he had a fever. 

He entered to see Arthur crouched on the ground by Merlin’s bedside. Merlin’s face was red and sweaty, a wet cloth over his forehead to keep him cooler. He wore a troubled expression, one which gave Arthur a deep feeling of guilt for not protecting Merlin more. He looked down at his hands, where he now held a circular object. It bore the engravement of a silver bird, his mother’s sigil. 

“Don’t die on me now, okay, Merlin?” Arthur whispered, chuckling slightly to hide his worry. He jolted when Merlin began to mumble something incoherent. 

_“Him Liffrea, wuldres wealdend, woroldare forgeaf. Arthur – swa sceal geong guma gode gewyrcean…”_ Arthur’s eyes widened. _Was that—_

“Okay! Arthur, I’m sure you have many duties to attend to!” Gaius shouted as he quickly shoved Arthur out of the room and slammed the door. Arthur stood there bewildered for a moment, then heard angry whispering from Gaius and peeked through a hole in the door. 

_“Fromum feohgiftum on fæder bearme. Fromum feohgiftum. Hine on ylde eft gewunigen wilgesiþas, þonne wig cume.”_

“Merlin!” Gaius scolded, hitting the unconscious boy lightly with a towel, “I’ve got to fix your problem, you can’t keep doing magic in your sleep!” 

Arthur saw an ice-cold light appear from Merlin’s fingertips, snowflakes forming in the air around him. It was beautiful, in a way, if Arthur had not been struck with an instinctual fear at the mention of magic. 

Gaius sighed and headed for the door, causing Arthur to jump out of his stunned trance. He ran before the physician saw him. Collapsing against the stone wall outside, sinking to the ground with his head in his hands, the prince tried to process the information. 

Merlin had magic. _Merlin!_ Arthur wasn’t sure how to feel. He should have been angry, he knew that. And maybe a part of him was, but there was the other part too, the one that was Merlin’s friend. The part that pulled at Arthur’s heartstrings and left him wondering if what they had was more than friendship. 

Surely Merlin couldn’t be using his magic for evil. That was his first thought when sorcery was mentioned— his father had taught him that. Each time it seemed as though someone would use it for good they turned against Camelot in the end. That was how Arthur grew to view sorcery; as pure evil and trickery. 

But this was Merlin _._ Arthur had never seen Merlin hurt anyone, much less be anything but loyal to Camelot. Er, well, maybe not Camelot, but to Arthur himself. But now, now that he knew of his servant’s powers, it made no sense to Arthur why that was. 

Over the next few days, it seemed as though Merlin was the only thing on his mind. He couldn’t figure out where to stand on it, why Merlin couldn’t trust him with this, and what the reason was for Merlin to even be in Camelot in the first place, given that it was where sorcerors were constantly hunted and killed. 

Then Merlin was back, acting as though everything was normal. _Of course he is,_ Arthur reminded himself, _he doesn’t know you know._ He decided it best to not face him about the magic, and give himself time to come to terms with what he thought about it. 

So, he stayed quiet. 

And that’s when he began to see all that Merlin had done. He paid more attention to him when they got into fights with mercenaries. It turned out he wasn’t hiding, no, he was _fighting,_ the only way he knew how. With magic. 

Arthur began to see every snippet of power every time they encountered bandits, every time it seemed he owed his life to some miracle. 

He noticed the short flashes of his eyes, glowing gold for a moment. 

He began to see Merlin for all he was, and how different that was from the Merlin Arthur thought he knew. He began to see how obvious it was, if he had only started paying attention sooner. 

As the weeks went by he fell farther and farther, until he realized that over time he had begun to fall in love with his friend, the true version of Merlin, the one he barely knew as of only months ago. It was strange, how he felt, and it was beautiful. 

**・** ♔ **・**

“There’s something off about Arthur, Gwen.” 

Merlin packed some supplies in a bag as Gwen kept him company while preparing for a mission. 

She handed him a shirt of Arthur’s, “I’m sure he’s just worried about you, and everything that’s expected of him now that he’s basically king. This is a dangerous mission you’re going on.” 

Merlin looked at her with an eyebrow raised. “ _Why on earth_ would he be worried about me?” He asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question. 

“He may not say it, but he actually cares about you a great deal,” Gwen paused, then smiled as if getting an idea of what to say. “Remember when we went on that picnic in the woods? He ended up talking about how he wanted to leave Camelot to live on a farm with _you_.” 

Merlin only laughed, hands slapping the leather bag on the table in front of him, until he realized Gwen wasn’t joking. 

_“Really?”_

Gwen giggled, “I know right?” as she handed him another piece of clothing. 

Merlin shook his head in disbelief, chuckling. “He’s a prince, I can hardly imagine him plowing away in the field all day.” 

Gwen burst into a laughter that echoed off the walls of Arthur’s room. 

“That’s exactly what I said!” 

**・** ♔ **・**

They were going to die. 

Arthur was sure of it. 

There were too many of Morgana’s new batch of mercenaries she sent to fight her battles. The prince’s eyes swept around to his knights, all struggling to hold off a soldier. He noticed Merlin crouched on the ground next to Leon, bandaging a wound in his leg. Arthur called out to get his attention. Merlin looked up, frantic, as if thinking, _what are you doing?! We’re in the middle of a battle._

“Do something, you idiot!” Arthur called, “Or else we’ll all die!” 

Now Merlin looked truly bewildered. 

“What do you want me to do?” He shouted. 

It was only then that Arthur realized he’d made a mistake. It was too late, he’d have to face the consequences or else he’d be too dead to be able to. 

“I _know!”_ Arthur shouted, and Merlin jumped up, “I know all the times you’ve saved me! Now do it again and I’ll make sure you get the recognition you deserve!” 

Merlin froze, his blue eyes sparkling. They met Arthur’s, desperate and sad. Arthur looked at his servant, his friend. The man he’d fallen in love with. His eyes shared one message, _Please._

A shaky breath escaped Merlin’s mouth as if he were about to say something. He wasn’t able to, though, before Arthur heard his name shouted and was thrown out of the way. He landed on the ground to see a flash of red and blue run in front of him. 

_“Ástryce!”_

Merlin stood over him, a burning knife deep in the chest of a mercenary, his sword drawn, ready to kill Arthur. The man fell, his body going limp. 

At that moment Merlin smiled over his shoulder at Arthur, but it soon disappeared as he stumbled back in pain. The sorcerer fell into Arthur’s arms. The mercenary’s knife was impaled in Merlin’s side. 

He struggled to hold himself up, wincing in pain. 

“Don't,” Arthur whispered. He moved Merlin into his lap, holding his head up in his hands. Merlin’s lips turned up into a weak smile, “You knew?” Arthur nodded. A tear fell from the Warlock’s eyes. “I wanted to tell you, Arthur, I—” 

“Shh, don't speak,” Arthur interrupted, bringing Merlin up into a hug. A few silver tears fell down his face, staining the back of Merlin’s jacket. 

Arthur heard a small gasp from over his shoulder. He looked up, facing the opposite direction than Merlin, to see a large group of their enemies coming toward them, swords drawn. Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival fought off some, keeping them away from the prince and his sorcerer, but there were too many for them to face alone. 

Merlin whispered a few words, raising a hand, the other still clutched around Arthur. He took a few breaths, then spoke again, louder as a powerful echo moved through his voice. 

_“Ic þe bebiede þæt þu abifest nu!”_

Arthur could sense a light grow from Merlin’s hand, becoming brighter as it surrounded the two. 

A quiet spell: _“Leoht scildan.”_

The golden circle expanded, in a flash that swept over the forest. It dissipated as it passed over the mercenaries. Arthur heard the _plumps_ as they all fell to the ground, and the sound of metal hitting stone. Camelot’s Knights stared at the bodies, astonished. They themselves were all unwounded by the blast. 

Merlin’s weight fell deeper into Arthur. His eyes flashed golden, flickering like a weakening flame. 

“No, Merlin…” Arthur mumbled frantically, hands moving from Merlin’s wound to hold his face. 

Merlin smiled, though there was worry in his eyes. “I’ll be alright, Arthur. I promise.” 

The flame died, and Arthur lifted Merlin up, cradling him in his arms. It was a long walk home.

**Author's Note:**

> I promise you, this isn't how it ends. There's more to the story, this is just a good place to stop. I love delivering the angst before the fluff :')


End file.
